Today's key market insights

US markets

Stock futures were flat overnight after markets rose on Monday.

General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, and Verizon will all report earnings this morning, while Microsoft will post its results this afternoon.

Chip makers including Nvidia, which gained nearly 7.6%, and VanEck Semiconductor ETF, which rose almost 5%, led gains on the Nasdaq.

The current 10 Year US Treasury yield is set at 3.52090%.

Canadian markets

Urbanation, a real estate consulting firm, has released a report looking into Toronto’s rental market last year.

Despite a decline in housing prices in 2022, rent increased by 16.9% in the city, whereas it saw a 0.5% decrease in 2021.

The increase is mainly due to immigrants and foreign students moving to the city once pandemic-related restrictions were lifted. Rising interest rates led to a decline in first-time homebuyers, which increased the demand for rentals.

The average monthly rental price for a condo in Toronto was $2,752 at the end of last year, $391 more than in December 2021.

Rental constructions decreased by 54% in 2022, showing that supply is unlikely to increase in the short term.

European markets

European markets were up slightly on Friday after falling on Thursday following a strong start to the week that saw the FTSE hit a new high.

The Stoxx 600 rose 0.35% on Friday, led by travel stocks, which gained 1.2%.

For the week, the Stoxx 600 lost 0.3%, with most of those losses coming during a sell-off on Thursday in response to weak corporate earnings and economic data from the U.S.

Cellnex, a Spanish telecom company, was the best-performing stock in the Stoxx 600 on Friday, gaining 8.9%.

Close Brothers, a British banking group, was the worst-performing stock, falling 10.3%.

Asian markets

Stocks In Asia were up on Friday despite Japan’s inflation hitting a 41-year high.

Singapore’s tourism board said that despite China’s reopening, the number of Chinese tourists visiting the island country is unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels this year.

Stocks in China continue to have positive momentum following the country’s lifting of most Covid restrictions, with the Hang Seng, Shanghai Composite, and Shenzhen Component all rising last week.

The Nikkei rose on Friday after new data showed that consumer prices rose by 4% in December on an annualized basis, a 41-year high. The index fell on Thursday in response to the Bank of Japan unexpectedly maintaining its monetary policy.

Commodities

Oil prices rose on Friday and have now increased for two consecutive weeks.

Both Brent crude and U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained just over 1% on the day.

The positive outlook created by China’s removing Covid restrictions and reopening its economy continues to outweigh concerns over the global economy’s health.

The U.S. oil rig count is at its lowest since November, which pushed prices up as it suggests a decline in domestic supply.

Currency exchange rates

The U.S. Dollar was slightly volatile on Monday as investors reacted to movements in international markets.

The USD hit a nine-month low against the Euro mid-day before bouncing back to finish the day up against the Euro.

The British pound was down on Monday after hitting a seven-month high against the USD earlier in the day.

The Yen continues to fall after the Bank of Japan decided to keep its ultra-low rates last week.

Cryptocurrency

Crypto markets were flat on Monday, but FTT rose 8%.

Gemini said it will cut another 10% of its staff after announcing layoffs in June and July of last year that left the company with around 700 workers by the end of 2022.

Porsche’s NFT collection is failing to generate much interest as minting begins.

A Uniswap poll showed that 80% of its customers support a move to the BNB chain.

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